Nice story: The Difficult Test

A Nice story on how we should be mindful of Allah at all timesand why we should trust him. SubhanAllah this is indeed a refreshingreminder. I'd recommend you all to have sabr and finish it to the end,for there is indeed a priceless lesson to be learnt.

By Dr. Abu `AbdAr-Razzaq

Ibn Jarir At-Tabari narrates:

I was in Makkah during the season of Hajj and I saw a man from Khurasan callingout to the people, “Pilgrims, people of Makkah—from those who are present andthose far off—, I have lost a pouch that contains a thousand dinars. So whoeverreturns the pouch will be rewarded by Allah with good and saved from theHellfire, and His bounty and favors will be acquired on the Day of Accounting(Day of Judgment).”

An old man from the people of Makkah approached him and said, “Khurasani, ourcity is in very tough condition, and the days of Hajj are few, and its seasonis appointed, and the doors of profit-making are closed. This money might fallinto the hands of a believer who is poor and old in age. Maybe he plans to giveit back if you promise that you will give him a little bit of money that ishalal (permissible) for him to use.”

The Khurasani asked, “How much does he want?”

“He wants one-tenth of the money.”

The Khurasani replied, “No, I will not grant him the money. Instead I will takemy case to Allah and complain to Him on the day we meet Him, and Allah issufficient for us and the best one to trust in.”

I realized that it was the old man who was poor, and he was the one who hadtaken the pouch of dinars and wished to have a little portion of it. So Ifollowed him until he returned to his home. My assumptions were confirmed. Iheard him calling onto his wife, “Lubabah!”

She said, “I am at your service, Abu Ghayth.”

The old man said, “I found the owner of the dinars calling for it, and he doesnot intend to give any reward to the person who finds it. I said to him, ‘Giveus a hundred dinars,’ and he refused and said he would take his case to Allah .What should I do, Lubabah? I must return it, for I fear my Lord and I fear thatmy sin is multiplied.”

The wife replied, “Oh man! We have been struggling and suffering from povertywith you for the last 50 years, and you have four daughters, two sisters, mymother and me, and you are the ninth. Keep all the money and feed us, for weare hungry, and clothe us, for you know better our situation. Perhaps Allah theAlmighty will make you rich afterwards and you might be able to give the moneyback after you have fed your children, or Allah will pay the amount you owe onthe day when the kingdom will belong to the King (Allah).”

The old exclaimed, “Will I consume haram (unlawful) after 86 years of my life,and burn my organs with fire after I have been patient with my poverty, andbecome worthy of Allah’s anger, even though I am close to my grave? No, byAllah, I will not do so!”

I left amazed at his condition and that of his wife. Later I heard the owner ofthe pouch calling out, “People of Makkah, pilgrims, whoever of you finds apouch containing a thousand dinars, let him return it and he will surely findgreat reward with Allah.”

The old man said, “Khurasani, I addressed you the other day and advised youthat our land is low on cultivation, so reward the person who found the pouchso that he is not tempted to break the laws of Allah . I advised you to pay theperson who finds it a hundred dinars, but you refused. If your money falls intothe hands of a person who fears Allah the Almighty, will you give him tendinars at least, instead of a hundred?”

The Khurasani replied, “I will not do so, and I will complain to Allah on theday I meet Him, and Allah is sufficient for us and the best one to trust in.”

The people dispersed and left. Later, once again, the Khurasani made the samecall.

The old man came again and said, “Khurasani, I said to you the day beforeyesterday to reward the finder a hundred dinars and you refused. Then I advisedyou to give him ten dinars and you refused. So will you give only one dinar sothat he can buy with half of it things he needs and with the other half sheep’smilk so that he can give to the people and feed his children?”

The Khurasani said, “I will not do so, and I will complain to Allah on the dayI meet Him, and Allah is sufficient for us and the best one to trust in.”

The old man said angrily, “Come and take your money so that I can sleep atnight, for I have not been in a good mood ever since I found this money.”

So the old man went with the owner of the money and I followed them until theold man entered his house, dug a hole, and pulled out the money and said, “Takeyour money and ask Allah to forgive me and bless me from His bounty.”

The Khurasani took the money and intended to leave, but when he reached thedoor he said, “Old man, my father died—may Allah have mercy on him—and leftbehind three thousand dinars and said to me, ‘Take out a third of this moneyand give it to a person from the people who is most deserving of it.’Therefore, I tied it in a pouch so that I may spend it on someone who is worthyof it. By Allah , I have not seen a person since I left Khurasan until now, whois more worthy of it than you. So take it, may Allah’s blessing be upon you,and may He reward you for the trust you kept and your patience during poverty.”

The Khurasani man left without the money.

The old man wept and prayed to Allah , “May Allah bless the owner of the moneyin his grave, and may Allah bless his son.”

I left after the Khurasani but Abu Ghayth, the old man, followed me and broughtme back. He asked me to sit down and said, “I have seen you following me sincethe first day; you have come to know of our situation yesterday and today. Ihave heard that the Prophet said, ‘If you are gifted from the provision ofAllah, without begging or asking, then accept it and do not reject it.’ So thisis a gift from Allah to all those attending.”

The old man called his daughters, his sisters, and his wife and her mother, andsat down and made me sit down. We were 10. He opened the bag and said, “Spreadyour clothing over your laps.”

So I did, but the girls did not have proper clothing that would enable them todo that, so they extended their hands. The old man gave out the dinars one byone in order until he reached me and said, “Here is a dinar.” The processcontinued until the bag was empty and I received a hundred dinars.

So joy filled my heart because of the provision they received, more than thejoy I had because I received a hundred dinars.

When I was leaving the old man said, “Young man, you are blessed. Keep thismoney with you, for it is halal. And know that I used to wake up for FajrPrayer with this wet shirt. After I was done I would take it off and give it tomy daughters so that they could pray, one by one. Then I would go to workbetween Zhuhr Prayer and `Asr Prayer and then I would come back at the end ofthe day with what Allah has given me of dates and dry pieces of bread. Then Iwould take off my clothes for my daughters and they would pray Zhuhr and `Asr,and the same would happen for the Maghrib and `Isha’ Prayers. And we did notever expect to see this kind of money. So may Allah make us make good use ofthem, and may Allah bless the person in his grave and multiply the reward forhim.”

So I told him goodbye and took the hundred dinars and used them to writeknowledge for two years. I used it to buy paper and pay rent, and after 16years I returned to Makkah and inquired about the old man. I was told that hehad died a few months after the incident that occurred between us. His wife haddied, along with her mother and his two sisters. The only ones that remainedwere the daughters, who, I found upon asking, were married to kings andprinces. I dropped by and they honored me as a guest and treated me kindlyuntil they died also. So May Allah bless them in their graves.

(And whosoever fears Allah and keeps his dutyto Him, He will make a way for him to get out (from every difficulty). And Hewill provide him from (sources) he never could imagine. And whosoever puts histrust in Allah , then He will suffice him.) (At-Talaq 65:2-3)